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Women hit hardest by benefits changes

Changes to the benefits system made by the UK coalition government since it took office in 2010 have hit women disproportionately hard, according to a new study published by the Scottish Government. The study provides an overview of the impacts of each element of benefits reform on men and women.

Key points

The Welfare Reform Act 2012, along with successive Budgets, Autumn Statements and Spending Reviews, has resulted in significant changes to the benefits system. Many of these changes have had a significant impact on women – largely due to women's caring responsibilities.

Women lose out in a direct financial sense because certain benefits – child benefit, child tax credits and the childcare element of working tax credit – are typically paid to women. The income women receive from these benefits has been reduced in real terms, and in some cases even in nominal terms.

Women will also lose out because of how the new universal credit is structured as a single household payment. In couple households where this is paid to the man, this will represent a loss of income for women and may result in resources not being shared equally.

There is also concern that other universal credit changes could mark the start of a return to a 'male breadwinner' model in dual-headed households. The single earnings disregard under universal credit improves the incentive for one person in a couple household to move into employment: but it may weaken the incentives for many second earners (mainly women) to enter work or continue working.

Universal credit is likely to make day-to-day budgeting more challenging for women. It will be paid as a single monthly payment, a sharp contrast to the current system of multiple benefits paid at different times in the month. Women in low-income households tend to be responsible for day-to-day budgeting and any problems with payment are likely fall on them. Additionally, reductions in a household’s income from benefits may affect women’s ability to manage on limited resources.

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PSE:UK is a major collaboration between the University of Bristol, Heriot-Watt University, The Open University, Queen's University Belfast, University of Glasgow and the University of York working with the National Centre for Social Research and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. ESRC Grant RES-060-25-0052.